Movable seats are in common use in mass transportation. These seats are typically mounted on parallel rails, or tracks, which allows them to be moved to change their spacing, with one objective being to open an area large enough to receive a mobility aid used by non-ambulatory passengers. In the typical arrangement, two or more seats are moved to locations where they are quite close to each other or to other seats so that the mobility aid area will be as large as possible by movement of as few seats as possible. The movable seats are generally provided with flip-up seat bottoms to allow those seats to be moved to locations as close as possible to the adjacent seat in front.
Known seats are also often provided with a locking mechanism that secures the seat to the seat rails at predetermined locations. These locking mechanisms often include locking plungers that move vertically to engage either holes or gaps between adjacent physical stops within the rails to lock the seat in place. The seat is unlocked by operating the mechanism to lift the locking shafts out of the holes or gaps. A typical seat is supported on two pedestals, and each pedestal has a vertically movable locking plunger that is operated by a user handle located between the pedestals or at each pedestal.
One disadvantage of the known locking mechanisms is that locating the user's handle between the pedestals or at a pedestal frequently means that it is not easily accessible when the seats have been moved close to each other, because one seat is then so close to the seat in front that the operator cannot access the handle. Another disadvantage of the known mechanisms is that they can be operated and the seat bottom used by a passenger regardless of whether the seat has been locked into the use position. Therefore, it is possible that the seat might be used when unlocked. Thus, there is a need for a seat locking mechanism that is more easily approached by the user and eliminates operator confusion regarding the position of the seat bottom.